Chinese Stone Gongshi

Red, cream and a band of gold, and they named it after chicken blood.

This gongshi comes from Zhejiang Province, China, and is ji xue shi, or chicken blood stone, on a hardwood base, its age indeterminate. Chicken blood stone takes its name from red streaks prized by Chinese seal carvers, and a fine piece has long been treasured in the scholar's studio for its color alone. Here deep red sweeps across the top, a layered ochre band curves below it, and a milky white mass with red clouds fills the lower half. Fourteen and a half inches high and ten and a half wide.

The name is unfortunate. The stone has forgiven it.